Bahama Pundit

Fixing the Bahamian Justice System

by Larry Smith

“(Trial by jury) is the most transcendent privilege which any subject can enjoy, or wish for - that he cannot be affected either in his property, his liberty, or his person, but by the unanimous consent of twelve of his neighbors and equals." -- Sir William Blackstone

Does it matter whether Bahamian trials proceed with nine- or 12-person juries?

Some research says larger juries are indeed more representative. But in a small place like this, where there are inordinate delays in jury selection in an already dysfunctional court system, cutting the number of jurors makes sense.

The government recently introduced a measure to do just that - going from 12 to nine jurors in non-capital cases, reducing the number of peremptory challenges by lawyers to seven, and requiring a majority vote of six of the nine jurors to decide non-capital cases.

This amendment to the Juries Act is set for final debate in the House today. But the opposition is, of course, opposed. They say the measure is "useless" and argue that the government is "tinkering with a fundamental right". According to Fred Mitchell (who was a cabinet minister just a few months ago), the government should "simply cause speedy trials to take place."

Frustrations at Nassau International Airport

by Craig Butler

I travel quite a bit on business so I am accustomed to the mess that we call our international airport. On Friday last I was on American’s 10:45 am flight to Ft. Lauderdale. I arrived early and was looking forward to a leisurely check-in before getting to the departure lounge to send some emails and read the newspaper.

Having been away the week before, I was aware that the parking lot in front of the arrival terminal was partly closed due to renovation, but it was an inconvenience that had to be borne.

But Friday morning was different because those in control had now decided in their infinite wisdom to close the entire parking facility. This has to be the most ridiculous decision I have seen in a long time.

Road Rage in the Bahamas

by Larry Smith

Today I'd like to indulge in a little road rage.

Over the past eight years I've been riding a bicycle for both exercise and enjoyment. Not competitive cycling, I hasten to confirm, just casual bike riding.

For a long time I was able to ride from Fox Hill Road to my office near St Matthew's Church. I was able to do this a couple of times a week, just outside the peak traffic hours, without much risk. I was also able to ride downtown on Sundays and holidays with no hassle at all.

But lately the traffic situation has become so chaotic that it is too dangerous (for me anyway). And that applies to most routes, most times of the day, and all week long. I truly sympathise with those who are forced to ride to work through all kinds of traffic conditions.

Besides the crowded intersections, there are two principal road hazards today: speeders and idiots (you know, the kind who think nothing of passing within inches of you - whether by design or stupidity - as if you simply didn't exist).

Fixing the Jury System in the Bahamas

by Craig Butler

This past week the government began a parliamentary debate on a bill to amend the Juries Act. The main thrust of this amendment is to reduce the number of jurors in non-capital cases from 12 to nine

I was called by a reporter from the Nassau Guardian and asked to comment. I stated that I had no problem with such a move as I was on the side of justice and I thought that a jury of nine could still deliberate fairly. On reading the article that was produced, I was surprised to see that I was the only person quoted in favour of the proposal.

On closer inspection, however, I realized that the others asked were simply grandstanding, as they had avoided the question completely and tried to shift the emphasis to what was wrong in the judicial system. This was particularly annoying when coming from the president of the Bar Association.

The Bahamas and the EU Economic Partnership Agreement

by Larry Smith

If you thought the Caribbean Single Market & Economy was a tough call, try wrapping your mind around the Economic Partnership Agreement we are currently negotiating with the European Union.

This is supposed to govern our relations with one of the world's economic superpowers for the foreseeable future. But you could probably count on two hands the number of Bahamians who understand half of what is going on.

One reason for that is because our policymakers like to do things in secret. Another reason is that they themselves often don't know much about what is going on, and have no real policy on which to make a judgement.

As Fred Mitchell, the former minister who managed the CSME debate pointed out: "Most (Bahamian) trade matters are decided on an ad hoc basis. Ultimately, the country has to decide how and to what extent...to integrate into the world economy."

True. But that doesn't mean we want Fred - or one or two others like him - deciding these things for us behind our backs. We need to be up front and fully informed about these matters, because they have serious implications for all of us.

Political Gamesmanship in the Bahamas

by Craig Butler

I don’t know about you but I’ve had enough of the back and forth between the two major political parties. To both of them I say: get over it and resume the governance of the country.

Every day there is another allegation put forward by the government and the PLP feel duty bound to respond. I am really getting tired of it, but in politics the only thing the parties have to rely on is their record and accordingly they will do whatever it is to protect that and avoid having it tarnished.

Many of the soldiers out there are still locked in election mode, and eagerly awaiting the next poll. I hear on a daily basis from both PLPs and FNMs that there will be an early election. I don’t know if this is wishful thinking, plain stupidity, or something that is being fostered by the respective parties, but I know that it is dangerous and I wish it would stop.

Going Down Burma Road

by Larry Smith

Goin' down Burma Road...ain' ga lick nobody.

For most Bahamians Burma Road refers to the 1942 riots over pay for the men who worked on the wartime air bases in Nassau. Two rioters were killed by British troops, more than 40 people injured and over a hundred arrested, but those unprecedented events also led to long overdue reforms.

The name 'Burma Road' had currency because of what went on at the same time on the other side of the world. In Southeast Asia work was underway on the real Burma Road so that the Allies could move troops and supplies into China to fight the Japanese.

Construction of that Burma Road began in December 1942. Cutting through mountainous territory in the north of Burma, it was considered a remarkable engineering achievement. The Bahamian equivalent was in the vicinity of Blake Road, which runs from Caves Point to the former pine barren that became Windsor Field - and later our international airport.

Explosives were used to cut through the limestone hills behind the caves to provide fill for the new airfield. But there are more significant parallels between what is going on in Burma today, and what took place in the Bahamas 65 years ago.

The Gay Agenda in the Bahamas

by Craig Butler

It is so amazing what we in this country think about gay people, or should I say what we appear to think.

Before going further I wish we would first of all stop and think about our families. I doubt seriously that there is a single person who can truly say that their family does not have a person in it who practices an alternative lifestyle. That being the case I really don’t think that we love them any less or treat them any differently. Then why is it that we choose to single the gay community out as a group?

The church is attempting to set the public agenda. I want to say off the back that the church acts out of what they perceive to be their religious duty and obligation based on the bible and its teachings. Indeed that is what the majority of Bahamians expect of the church.

On the Neighbourhood

by Nicolette Bethel

In Winston Saunders' quartet of plays, The Nehemiah Chronicles, the main character, an old man who has remained in his neighbourhood throughout a number of decades, talks to an invisible reporter about the rise in crime around him and how he feels unsafe in the home where he once was secure. In the past he's always known his neighbours. He disciplined their children, and helped to raise a society of youngsters who respected authority and one another, and who made sensible contributions to their country and countrymen.

He blames the current state of the nation on the growth of the sudivision, where fences and walls and back gardens have replaced front porches and shared yards, where the entire population leaves their houses standing empty during the day, and where at night no one knows the people who live next door.

In the suburbs, he says, crime flourishes because nobody knows or cares enough about one another to prevent or stop it. People can be burgled or attacked or murdered in the home next door or across the street without the knowledge of those nearby. In the inner city -- in the ghetto, Over the Hill, or in what was once the neighbourhood, people can be burgled or attacked or murdered in the home next door without the interference of those nearby, because all the connections that once existed have been broken.

And he has a point.

On Homos and Sapiens in the Bahamas

by Larry Smith

Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion--several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight. -- Mark Twain

This past summer thousands of people fled their homes amid severe flooding across England and Wales. The British prime minister said it was an "extraordinary and very serious event".

So extraordinary, in fact, that soon afterward one Anglican prelate was very seriously calling the floods "God's judgment on the immorality and greed of modern society." The Bishop of Carlisle claimed that laws that have undermined marriage, including the introduction of pro-gay legislation, provoked God to act by sending the unprecedented storms.

This drew laughter even from fellow clergymen. As one reverend wrote tongue-in-cheek to the Anglican Church Times: "Is there no end to the talents of Church of England bishops (who) have suddenly acquired expertise in meteorology (and) declared that the rains are a punishment from God?"

According to Christopher Hitchens, an ex-communist British expat who is now a columnist for Vanity Fair and has been described as "the quasi-omniscient Johnny Rotten of political journo-intellectualism" (my idol), this leaves open the question of why heaven should have decided to punish the County of Yorkshire (where much of the flooding occurred) rather than the fleshpots of London.